Chapter 356: A Sleepless Night

Su Zhao sent spiritual power into Yuan Gang's abdomen and examined it carefully. She could not detect any trace of the Spirit-Torment Pill. It seemed Qin Mian truly had helped him refine it completely. Su Zhao exploded. She flashed forward, seized Qin Mian by the throat, and slammed her against the wall. The killing intent on her face was unmistakable. She knew far too well what kind of thing the Spirit-Torment Pill was.

Once its poison took effect, the pain was something no one could endure. There was an antidote, but the so-called antidote could only suppress the effect for three months at a time. There was no true cure that could eliminate it completely. Once someone swallowed the pill, it meant he could never truly escape its control.

Su Zhao had never imagined that the man who had only just shared the intimate joys of fish and water with her, the man who had just stirred genuine feelings from her and prompted her to speak from the heart, would immediately fall victim to Qin Mian's vicious hand. Never had she imagined Qin Mian would actually feed Yuan Gang something so cruel. In the past, when she had given this same thing to other people, she had never felt much of anything.

This time, however, her heart truly clenched. She knew what sort of torment Yuan Gang would have to endure in the future. When that time came, how was she supposed to explain herself to him?

"Tell me it isn't true!" Su Zhao demanded fiercely, still clinging to one last thread of hope.

Qin Mian's face had turned red from being strangled. She pointed at Su Zhao's hand around her throat, indicating that she could not speak like this. Su Zhao released her. Her face remained full of killing intent.

"Cough, cough!"

Qin Mian coughed lightly. Until now, she too had still held a sliver of hope. She had hoped Su Zhao might abandon this madness. Yet Su Zhao had actually attacked her for Yuan Gang. Now Qin Mian understood. The Proprietress truly had fallen for this man. A trace of disappointment entered her expression.

"Proprietress, put your hand on your conscience and ask yourself how I've treated you all these years. Whether by seniority or qualifications here, the position of Incense Master should have been mine. The higher-ups intended it for me too. It was Mr. Bai who wanted me to yield it to you. I agreed without a second word, and I've followed his instructions all these years, doing everything I could to look after you. We've worked together for this long, and now you actually attack me for an outsider?"

Su Zhao's lips tightened. She had to admit that Qin Mian had taken care of her for years in a way she could find no fault with. But some things simply could not be weighed against one another like that.

She asked coldly, "Did I or did I not tell you not to interfere in matters you shouldn't interfere in? No matter who this Incense Master position originally should have belonged to, do you still recognize the chain of command within the organization? I explicitly forbade you from acting, yet you dared disobey my order?"

Qin Mian argued fiercely, "I did it for your own good! If something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain it to Mr. Bai?"

"If you're dissatisfied with me, you can appeal upward. Who authorized you to use the Spirit-Torment Pill on your own? Don't you know this thing cannot be used casually? Don't you know anyone who uses it must first obtain approval from the line above? Did I approve it? Who gave you the right to decide for yourself?"

"Appeal upward?" Qin Mian pointed back and forth between the pair. "Incense Master, do you understand what you've done? He has seen through the truth of your relationship with the Prince of the Western Court. You knowingly violated the arrangement and jeopardized the higher-ups' business. Do you think they'll spare him? Or spare you?"

Su Zhao's expression turned ugly.

She fell silent for a while, then still gritted out, "Did you actually give him the drug or not?"

Qin Mian looked pained.

"Incense Master, I'm trying to save you! If we don't patch this hole immediately, no one will be able to protect you. Think carefully. The Huyan clan stands behind him. They say Supreme General Huyan Wuhen admires him greatly and has always wanted to recruit him into the Valiant Cavalry. If we drug him, then when we report upward, we can say it was done to plant someone beside Huyan Wuhen. With a reason like that, and with Mr. Bai stepping forward to shoulder responsibility for you, nothing will happen!"

She continued urgently, "Incense Master, think about it again. If he truly likes you, then this shouldn't matter. Would you really allow him to suffer torment for long? Would we ever withhold the antidote from him? So long as he's willing to treat you sincerely, taking the pill or not taking it makes no difference. He can live exactly like a normal person! Incense Master, I'm helping the two of you. If you truly love him, then as long as we can explain matters to the higher-ups, you won't have to live in fear anymore. You really can be together with him."

At the words "really can be together," Su Zhao bit her lip.

Qin Mian lowered her voice.

"Incense Master, I know what you're worried about. You're afraid that when he wakes and learns the truth, he won't be able to accept it and will resent you. Don't worry. He fell into my hands the moment he left your room. He'll understand that this wasn't your idea. Pretend you know nothing about it. So long as outsiders don't discover your relationship, you can associate with him however you wish in private. Leave the rest to me. I'll arrange everything. I'll be the villain. I'll make sure things are handled properly, let you get what you want, and still keep you safe. I promised Mr. Bai I would look after you. I would never act recklessly. Otherwise, Mr. Bai himself wouldn't spare me..."

Night had already enveloped the Qi capital. Far out on the grasslands, however, the five riders traveling west were still chasing the setting sun. The horizon glowed red. Vast. Magnificent.

Neighhh!

A horse suddenly screamed. Dust billowed. Its foreleg gave way, and the animal tumbled across the ground. Niu Youdao sprang from the collapsing saddle and flew clear. The other four riders reined in one after another. Niu Youdao landed, planted his sword before himself, and turned to look back in the direction of the Qi capital. For a long time he simply stared. The dust raised by the tumbling horse drifted away in the wind.

Niu Youdao's clothes snapped around him as he stood straight in the evening breeze. The setting sun stretched his shadow long across the ground. There was something grave in the gaze he cast toward the distant capital. A mount stumbling was not a good omen. For no clear reason, unease had suddenly entered his heart. Acting on that inexplicable impulse, he found himself looking back toward the capital. The other four riders circled around and returned. Travel-stained Guan Fangyi jumped from her horse.

"This won't do. The mounts can't take any more. We have to stop and let them rest!"

Niu Youdao looked toward the fallen horse struggling back to its feet. Its legs were plainly weak. Then he looked at the other horses, all of them breathing violently. They had been running far too long this stretch. They had not encountered any herdsmen along the way and therefore had not been able to change mounts. The horses truly could not endure much more. If they kept forcing them onward, all of them might collapse and die.

"Rest for a while."

Niu Youdao pointed toward a slope sheltered from the wind... Yuan Gang awoke in violent pain. When consciousness returned, he found himself lying on the cold floor. He had no time to examine anything else. That brief instant of clarity was immediately swallowed by pain that seemed to rip through his very marrow. The agony defied description. It was as though a thousand blades were cutting him apart. As though he were being fried in boiling oil.

As though countless insects inside his body were tearing and biting at him. As though even his soul were being roasted in flame. Yuan Gang's expression distorted as he rolled across the floor, both hands clutching his head. From time to time he hammered the ground with his fists or struck his own skull, muffled groans escaping him. Before long, he had torn his clothes nearly to shreds. Through his blurred vision, he could make out a person standing nearby. Qin Mian.

Looking down at him from above. Because of the pain, Qin Mian seemed to split into five or six overlapping figures in his eyes. Yuan Gang reached toward her twice, fingers clawing at empty air. Then he staggered to his feet and threw a punch. In his present state, with both arms and legs weak, how could he possibly hit anyone? Qin Mian avoided him with ease. She watched Yuan Gang crash into the wall and collapse, rolling across the floor again.

Seeing that he still did not scream in agony and could even attempt to fight back, Qin Mian could not help clicking her tongue.

"What a man. You're practically forged from refined steel. Good. Let's see how long you can endure before you beg for mercy!"

But someone outside could no longer tolerate it.

Bang! Bang!

Someone who had heard the commotion inside pounded hard on the door twice. Qin Mian glanced back and ignored it.

Bang! Bang!

The door shook under another series of heavy blows. Qin Mian looked helpless. If this dragged on any longer, the person outside would probably lose patience and show herself. Qin Mian stepped forward and planted one foot on Yuan Gang, pinning him down. Then she slipped a black pill into his mouth... Yuan Gang did not know how he regained clarity.

When he opened his eyes again, his whole body was drenched in sweat as though he had been soaked in water. He felt weak. The clothes on his upper body had been torn to tatters. A woman's skirt stood close before him. His eyes shifted upward. Again, it was Qin Mian looking down at him. Yuan Gang forced himself upright. Remembering the pain from moments before still made his scalp crawl. He understood now. Someone had done something to him.

Qin Mian crouched before him and said coldly, "You have quite the nerve. You even dared take advantage of our Proprietress. She may be muddleheaded, but I'm not! Among the White Clouds can stand in the Qi capital because it flies the banner of the Prince of the Western Court. Whether or not there's truly anything between our Proprietress and the Prince of the Western Court, if word of this gets out, where does that leave his face? You enjoyed yourself and got what you wanted, but for our Proprietress this could cost her life. For us, it could bring disaster down on everyone. You've done quite the deed. Tell me, how do you intend to answer for it?"

Yuan Gang remained silent. The intimate scenes with Su Zhao surfaced in his mind again. On this matter, he truly did feel guilty... In the end, they still released Yuan Gang. Only after his figure disappeared through the rear gate did Su Zhao step out from the darkness. Her bright eyes were full of self-reproach. Qin Mian slowly walked to her side.

"He wasn't difficult to talk to. At least he's enough of a man. He said he'll take responsibility for you! He even had the nerve to say he'd take you away. Doesn't know his own weight. I refused. I told him to wait until he has the ability before saying something like that. Otherwise it's nothing but farting!"

Su Zhao smiled. Then she cried. Large tears rolled down her cheeks... Tonight, Su Zhao was destined not to sleep. Barefoot, knees drawn up, she leaned against the side of the couch. One fingertip teased a Moon Butterfly while her mind remained far away. Near dawn, someone knocked outside. Qin Mian entered and hurried over.

"Proprietress, Mr. Bai is here. He's furious!"

Su Zhao was startled. She scrambled to her feet, flustered.

"You only sent the message a few hours ago. How did he get here so quickly?"

Qin Mian looked nervous too.

"I don't know."

They dressed hurriedly and left together. Once again they came to the interrogation room where Yuan Gang had been held. Beneath the dim light, a figure wrapped in a black cloak stood with his back to them. The two entered. Su Zhao stepped forward and saluted.

"Eldest Uncle!"

The cloaked figure spoke without turning.

"How many times have I told you? Stop calling me Eldest Uncle."

Su Zhao hurriedly corrected herself.

"Master!"

The cloaked man spun around and struck her across the face.

Smack!

Su Zhao fell to the ground from the force of the blow. She covered her cheek. Blood seeped from the corner of her mouth. Qin Mian hurried forward to help her, but the cloaked man lifted one finger and pointed. Qin Mian froze immediately. Trembling, she backed away. The man pointed again at Su Zhao, who remained seated on the ground.

"You still regard me as your master? Shameless thing! You actually slept with a man inside a brothel. You really have taken this place for a brothel where you receive customers, haven't you? You've disgraced every generation of ancestors in my Bai family! Shameless! Cheap..."

[End of Chapter 356]